Yamaha MotoGP star Fabio Quartararo said he needed to “disconnect from racing” after a frustrating outing at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend.
Quartararo started the Phillip Island weekend on a strong note, putting his M1 on pole position with record-breaking pace in qualifying.
While few expected him to feature in the podium fight given Yamaha’s relatively poor race pace, Quartararo couldn’t even hold on to a top 10 spot in the race, crossing the finish line in 11th.
He was also not the top representative for the Iwata-based brand, as team-mate Alex Rins delivered a stronger performance to grab seventh, just one spot behind the top Honda of Luca Marini.
While Honda has made massive strides since the summer break, Yamaha hasn’t been able to match the progress of its homegrown rival, focusing instead on the development of its new V4 bike for 2026.
Asked whether MotoGP’s bruising 22-round calendar is taking a toll on riders, Quartararo said his situation is made tougher by his lack of competitiveness on track.
“Mentally, when you make results it’s OK, but what we are doing right now, I think it’s [difficult],” he said.
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
“Of course, [there is] motivation because I want to be fast, I want to be there. But when the results are not coming, you just want to go home and try to see the positive. But right now, it’s more about training well, finishing in the best way possible and of course trying to be ready.”
He added: “I am especially looking [forward] to the next four days where I can disconnect a bit from racing. I really need that. Sepang is a track I like, but I’m just trying to forget a bit what happened and just focus on myself.”
Quartararo said he had no clear explanation for his lack of pace in Sunday’s race, having finished seventh in the sprint and set the fourth-fastest time in warm-up.
“Really strange,” he described. “To be honest, I didn’t expect this kind of race. I know that my pace was good, but I don’t know what happened [that made me] feel that much [of a] difference in feeling.
“We saw that I didn’t have the pace in any lap during the race. I don’t really know what happened today. I could not stop the bike, I could not really carry speed. We still have to really check, but I never felt like that all weekend. Even in FP1, with the medium rear, I felt competitive, I felt fast. But on Sunday, I didn’t feel good at all, so let’s see what the team will tell me.”
Ahead of this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix, Quartararo sits ninth in the riders’ championship, while Yamaha occupies the last spot in the manufacturers’ standings.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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